The Weekend Picklist ☕ The Most Popular Salesforce Blogs, Must-See Sessions at Dreamforce, New Certification Alert, and More

Every weekend, we’ll be delivering our top headlines – highlights from the previous week for you to enjoy with a cup of coffee!

1. The Most Popular Salesforce Admin & Developer Blogs 2023

Something that all Salesforce professionals have in common is the continuous desire to learn, and in the Salesforce community many individuals love to give back – especially through blogs. When it comes to selecting the best blogs, it isn't just about website rankings. It’s about recognizing the voices from the Salesforce community that consistently share fresh content. 

Firstly, Salesforce Admin blogs. Automation Champion, led by the Salesforce MVP Rakesh Gupta , is excellent for learning admin automation. Salesforce Time by Yumi Ibrahimzade , is dedicated to Salesforce Flow and the latest news. Salesforce FAQs by Bijay Kumar offers beginner tutorials and error solutions. Also, Purposeful Architect by Richard Cunningham focuses on Salesforce architecture and business analysis.

Shifting to the Developer side, Salesforce Codex by Dhanik Lal Sahni focuses on development and architecture, and Salesforce MVP Jitendra Zaa offers a varied mix of comprehensive Salesforce development content. Salesforce Diaries by Sanket Kumar is all about Lightning development. The Joys of Apex by James Simone offers unique Apex insights, and SFDC Lessons by Arun K. covers Apex and Lightning Web Component development.

And there’s even more! The Salesforce community has a wealth of knowledge and commitment, and these blogs offer a glimpse into that. [Read More]

2. Must-See Sessions at Dreamforce 2023: Your Daily Guide

Dreamforce is just around the corner, and the excitement grows as the agenda is now out! With an array of amazing content, crafting the best schedule might seem daunting. But don't worry, we’ve highlighted the must-see sessions for you.

Day 1: Tuesday, September 12

Begin with the Go With the Flow Builder Roadmap at 9:00am PT and find out what innovations are lying ahead. At 9:45am PT, you won't want to miss Marc Benioff presenting the latest Salesforce breakthroughs in the Dreamforce Main Keynote.  

Midday, refresh your Slack experience at the Learn 10 Slack Productivity Tips and Tricks session in the Trailhead Theater. Later, explore Apex Roadmap updates and end with security migration strategies in Architect a Permission Set Led Security Model. 

Day 2: Wednesday, September 13

Kickstart with How to Use AI to Automate Faster with Flow. Following that, champion disability inclusion with Accessibility in a High-Performing Culture at 9:30am PT. After, the Admin Keynote promises insights into the transformative power of AI, Data, and CRM. 

At 12pm PT, Advanced Best Practices for Apex will teach you how to write scalable and secure Apex code. In the latter half of the day, AI-Powered Productivity as a Salesforce Business Analyst provides tools for BAs to boost their productivity.

Day 3: Thursday, September 14

Sales Cloud Roadmap will give you insights on growth transformations from Sales Cloud product leaders. At 10:00am PT, Become an Indispensable Admin with 5 Essential Skills will teach you how to become an asset for your organization. 

Later, the Admin Preview: Winter ’24 Release Readiness Live offers a sneak peek into the upcoming release’s highlights. Then, in the afternoon, enhance your Salesforce capabilities with Adding Tableau to Your Salesforce Tool Belt presented by Adam Mico. The day ends with Build Dynamic Screen Flows with LWC and Reactive Components, exploring the synergy of different components. [Read More]

3. New Salesforce Certifications Alert: Data Cloud Consultant + AI Associate 

Starting from September 6th, 2023, the Data Cloud Accredited Professional exam will change to the Salesforce Certified Data Cloud Consultant. Attempts for the Data Cloud Accredited Professional exam will be turned off on the day before (September 5) – at this point, any further attempts will be canceled. 

Data Cloud, previously known as Salesforce CDP and Genie, has seen a lot of name updates indicating advancements in its technology – and Marc Benioff teased that we will be seeing more of Data Cloud at Dreamforce. But this doesn’t come as a surprise. There has been a pattern of Data Cloud receiving the limelight in the news, as it's become essential for connecting different Salesforce clouds. Data Cloud, once a tool for marketers, now dictates Salesforce's strategic trajectory. 

Prospective candidates should possess a mix of data management, developer, and business analyst skills. It will be priced at $200 and accessible from September 6, to all Salesforce professionals.

Plus, after months of rumors, the Salesforce Certified AI Associate certification could be closer than we think. This certification will focus on foundational skills in the ethical handling of data as they apply to AI in CRM. This certification is pertinent for professionals, considering the C-Suite's growing interest in deploying GenAI. The certification specifics remain undisclosed. [Read More]

4. GitHub Copilot: AI Tool for Salesforce Developers

The landscape of coding is evolving, thanks to the emergence of tools driven by Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. GitHub Copilot is an AI product for developers. Its main promise? Smart auto-completion.

But GitHub Copilot goes beyond the typical auto-completion, it introduces an element of context awareness. Instead of basic suggestions, Copilot delves into the depth of your code, understanding what you are writing and showing the next logical piece of code.

Having been trained on publicly available code in GitHub, Copilot supports all the programming languages that have ever had a public repository on GitHub! That includes all languages for Salesforce development.

GitHub Copilot is an extension for VS Code and IntelliJ Idea. If you have a license, you can simply download it as an extension and log in to your account. It is currently priced at $10 per month for individuals and $19 per month for organizations.

Copilot is definitely a powerful tool that enhances developer productivity. It eliminates a lot of manual typing, reduces context switching, and may become an indispensable part of your development workflow. The future of this tool looks exciting with the upcoming GitHub Copilot X and GitHub Copilot Labs. [Read More]

5. Einstein Trust Layer – What’s the “Trust Gap” Salesforce Keep Talking About?

You may be hearing the phrase “trust gap” crop up in more and more conversations about generative AI. Every year, Salesforce publishes the State of the Connected Customer report. No surprise that this year’s edition focuses on how customer engagement with businesses has changed with artificial intelligence (AI), compiling findings from 14,000+ consumers and business buyers across 25 countries.

A few standout findings include:

• An increased concern about organizations using AI unethically.
• A declining percentage of users open to use AI since 2022.
• A consensus emphasizing trustworthiness as AI evolves. 

To address these concerns, Salesforce introduced the Einstein Trust Layer, ensuring GenAI outputs are both secure and relevant to organizational data. Their unique approach strikes a balance between data contextualization, security, and LLM flexibility. To further improve data security, Salesforce implemented the Generative AI Gateway, pre-processing inputs to mask sensitive data before engaging with external LLMs.

Salesforce advocates for the adoption of AI that is built on trust. With tools like Prompt Studio, admins have increased control over GenAI processes, and the a ‘human in the loop’ system ensures user validation for AI outputs. As regulations evolve, Salesforce's proactive stance helps their platforms, especially Einstein GPT, remain compliant and adaptable. [Read More]

6. [LinkedIn Live] Ask Us Anything - Salesforce DevOps & CI/CD

Have you got unanswered questions about DevOps and CI/CD? Well it’s your lucky day!

Salesforce Ben is partnering with Salto to bring you an exciting "Ask Us Anything” session. Connect directly with seasoned experts, Pablo Gonzalez 🇨🇷 , Nicolas Vuillamy 🦙 , and Jeferson Chaves , as they unravel the intricacies of DevOps and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) in the Salesforce realm.

Whether you're a coding enthusiast, a Salesforce aficionado, or an inquisitive techie, this session is tailored to you! Explore the nuts and bolts of optimizing Salesforce development through streamlined DevOps practices and efficient CI/CD pipelines. 

So, save the date, come equipped with your burning questions, and let's take a dive deep into the world of Salesforce optimization. [Register Here]